Sunday, 16 March 2008

Future of Back Riggs Post Office

It’s looking grim! The Co-Op has pulled out of the franchise arrangement and the Back Riggs Post Office is scheduled to close at the end of October.

Morpeth has to have a main Post Office. It’s part of its function as a market town, especially as more and more rural village post offices are closing.

I’m sure if local government wasn’t in quite such a turmoil, Northumberland would be one of those fifty plus councils asking Essex County Council how they are planning to run post offices. Maybe sometime in the future, a local post office would be part of a ‘community hub’ in several villages, alongside a library and a council one stop shop. But that won’t be for a few years (if ever).

And we’ve got just seven months. We urgently need both a new location for a main post office and a new franchisee. Maybe GMDT or Business Link should look at it? Though I’m not entirely sure that having the post office in the Chantry would be a good idea.